How To Remove A Radiator Without Draining It

In this tutorial video from Jimmy The Plumber, we’ll be shown how to remove a radiator from a wall without the need to drain the radiator beforehand.

Sounds like quite the task, doesn’t it? It isn’t though with Jimmy at hand to help.

There are a number of reasons why you would want to do this, which Jimmy explains.

Perhaps the most common reason for wanting to remove a radiator in this way is to paint or wallpaper behind it to leave a better looking finish.

Now the radiator will be heavily than you may be used to from removing one before (don’t forget it will be full of water) but it helps to know beforehand in case you need someone else to help you lift the radiator.

This tip is also a good idea if you don’t want to end up having to drain the heating system entirely.

Watch as Jimmy explains the importance of shutting the lock shields before carrying out anything else.

You’ll need to see if the valves are holding so you don’t end up with water everywhere when the radiator is removed.

To make sure everything goes to plan, you can watch how to leverage pressure from the bleed key and catch water that would otherwise fall out during the removal.

Don’t forget to shut the bleed key again after carrying out this step to stop air from going in to the top of the radiator and forcing water out of the bottom.

Grab some towels and get to remove the radiator by the supporting nuts.

Jimmy points out that you’ll know when you’re getting there as the nuts will begin to click as they turn.

This leads to the hardest part of the task: the actual removal from the wall.

It can be a bit difficult to figure out just how to flip the radiator off the wall, but as Jimmy says, watch it a few times and you should get the swing of things.

After flipping the radiator on its side, the water inside will move towards the top, which allows us to easily remove and be able to lift the radiator.

Just be aware that there will be some water coming out of the radiator as you jiggle it out of position.